Revelation 1:1 - 8

April 26, 2020

Today is Sunday. We have lifted our service for six weeks now. While I miss my church family, we can still hear from God. Let’s dig into the book of Revelation.

Chapter one begins with a blessing (meaning happy or favored), “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near” [Revelation 1:3 NIV]. John says there is something special about reading, hearing, and obeying the things found in the book. So consider yourself blessed as you stick with this study!

The reason for this blessing is the timing of the events. The word translated “near” carries the idea of "being in place" or "in position." One thought about the timing of events swirling around the end times it that it could happen in any generation, at any time (“imminent”).

John greets the seven churches of Asia mentioned in the book of Revelation with grace and peace. It seems what follows has little to do with grace and certainly will disturb peaceful thought. John uses the Trinitarian greeting in verses 4 and 5. The Father is described as “who is and who was and who is to come.” The Spirit is described as “the seven spirits.” Another way to translate this is “seven-fold Spirit,” an image from Isaiah. Jesus is identified as “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth… loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” [Revelation 1:4 – 5 NIV] 

So why do we think we are NOT free from sins, now? Notice this is PAST tense, not FUTURE tense. Effectively, Jesus is saying we are free from our sins, now. While the sin nature still stalks us, the downward spiraling of the world pulls us, and our own weaknesses blind us, we do not have to remain chained under the control of sinful impulses or the sinful nature. We have been bought, washed, and freed by the blood of Jesus Christ. 

John reassures the readers, “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.” [Revelation 1:7 NIV]. A problem the church faces is the delay of Jesus’ return, while maintaining its confidence. The New Testament suggests that the first generation of believers had the confidence that Jesus would return in their lifetime. This declaration is the first prophetic declaration of the book of Revelation.

Verse 8 states, “’I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” [NIV] This is another statement concerning the divinity of Jesus. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet, while Omega is the last. God is saying He is the beginning, everything in the middle, and the end of all things. The formula focuses attention on three perspectives of time; “is” refers to the present tense, “was” refers to the past tense, and “is to come” refers to the future tense. This is the second time this formula has been used.

In these short verses, we are urged to live victorious lives in a broken, decaying, and dying world. Jesus return and our resurrection is scheduled to happen. Everyone has an appointed time of judgement that will result in one of two possible outcomes. Do you want to hear, “well done” or “depart from me?” it’s your choice. 

If we are bought, washed, and freed by the blood of Jesus, why do we continue to go back to the "vomit" sin? (see Proverbs 26:11) We do it because we have never allowed Jesus to effectively wash and free us. At some point, we need to yield to God and allow God to sanctify (meaning to "set apart," "make holy") us.

Optimistically looking forward, the isolation will slowly be relaxed and we will be able to meet as a congregation soon. If you are reading this and are in need of a church family, please join us at Faith Alliance Church of Fuoss Mills. (Just search "Fuoss Mills" and you will find us.)

Introduction to Revelation #2

April 25, 2020

It’s Saturday! Tomorrow is the “Lord’s Day.” We call it that because we continually remember the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ while anticipating His return.

I promised to unpack a complicated web of differing views of how to interpret the book of Revelation. Let’s start with the three “millennial” (referring to the 1000 time period in Revelation 20) views. There is “pre-,” “a-,” and “post-,” What do they mean? I am so glad you asked!!!

Put your “thinking caps” on and lets dive in… deep. To make you think, and keep the minds open, I will attempt to refrain from passing judgment on the views. However, I strongly feel one of them is a lie from the pit of hell. (Hint: one of these positions denies the "atonement.")

Premillennialism is a view that Christ will come back BEFORE the millennial; and set up a literal physical 1000 year reign.  

In the category of premillennialism there are two different views.

1. Dispensationalism believes the Bible is separated into seven dispensations (periods of time) in which God dealt with humanity differently. This view claims it follows a strict literal interpretation of Scripture. It was popularized by Darby and Moody in the 1800’s, and Scofield (study Bible) starting around 1900. Keep in mind, this doctrine was never taught by any church before 1830.
2. Historical premillennialism believes that the Bible is a historical record of God dealing with humanity. Lessons can be applied and transferred to different dispensations. This was the belief of many prominent Christians in the first four centuries of church history.

A point of contention running through this subject is the "Great Tribulation" and the timing (or existence) of a "rapture."

1. Posts-tribulationists believe the church will go through the “great tribulation.” (Seven year period of time described in Daniel and Revelation.)
2. Mid-tribulationists believe the church will go through the first half of the tribulation and be raptured in the middle.
3. Pre-tribulationists believe that Christ could come at any moment. The church will be raptured before the tribulation.

Amillennialism holds to the idea that the millennium is now. Satan is now bound so that he cannot prevent the spread of the Gospel. This was the predominate belief of the church through the Middle Ages.

Postmillennialism has a positive view of the trajectory of the history of the world and the church. It believes the earth will get better through the spread of the Gospel. That all the world will convert to Christianity. This optimism died hard during the World Wars. 

There are essentially four hermeneutical views: preterits, idealist, historicist, futurist.

1. The Preterist view maintains that the events and symbols referred to events of John’s time/day. This view denies the prophetic element of the book of Revelation.
2. The Idealist view suggests an allegorical approach to Scripture spiritualizing the symbols of the book of Revelation. It claims no specific historical events or persons are literal.
3. The Historicist view says the symbolism outlines the course of church history from Pentecost to the return of Jesus.
4. The Futurist view claims the first three chapters deal with the apostolic period. The major portion of the book is future.

Concerning the book of Revelation John Wesley wrote, “The revelation was not written without tears; neither without tears will it be understood.” This book requires intellectual, spiritual, and emotional maturity to comprehend. The result should be a more tenacious and fearless witness in a hostile world.

Introduction to Revelation

April 24, 2020

Today is Friday. According to the Bible, this is the day Adam was created. Thus, the number 6 became the number of man.  Eventually this is reflected in Revelation to be “666.”

A lot of ideas swirl around the book of Revelation and it’s images. I know the book is a difficult nut to crack, or even scratch, but let’s take a look at it. I know these are uncertain times, and this study maybe opportunistic, but let’s set aside the strange things happening in our world and have some fun with the book of Revelation.

The book of Revelation was written by John while on the island of Patmos around the year 95 A.D. He had been banished by Emperor Domitian.

Other than its unique style several qualities of the book of Revelation distinguish it:

1. Only book to pronounce blessing for reading, hearing, and keeping its contents.
2. More references to the Old Testament than any other New Testament book [400].
3. Only New Testament book of prophecy.
4. Only book authored by Jesus.

The book of Revelation starts with these words, “A revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. Christ made it known by sending it through his angel to his servant John” [Revelation 1:1 CEB]. Basically, we have the two-pronged gist of the book. The intention is to “reveal” Jesus Christ and to show what will take place on the stage of God’s eternal plan of redemption.

If we take the standard manner of how books are titled, Jesus is the author. For instance, “Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ” [1 Peter 1:1 CEB], “From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for God’s good news.” [Romans 1:1 CEB].  In the Greek, it would be correct to also understand the first words as, “The revelation FROM Jesus.” [Revelation 1:1 NIV] John is the servant who receives the words, watches the events unfold, and worships Jesus. John watches it happen, making it a history. John writes, or doesn't write, as instructed.

The word translated “revelation” is the word “apocalypse” in the Greek. It means “disclosure: - appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, be revealed, revelation” [Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary]. It is used once in Luke. Paul uses the word 13 times. Peter uses it three times. Our concept of apocalypse is that of cataclysm and violent upheaval. When studying the book of Revelation, a tendency is to focus on the turbulence of events rather than on the Lord.

The interpretation of the Revelation depends on theological perspective (a framework or construct) and hermeneutics (the science of interpretation). Let’s start with theological views. There are three theological ways to understand the events of this book based on the key concept of the "millennium" (1,000 year time period) mentioned in Revelation chapter 20. The theological views surrounding this concept can determine much of our conclusions. The three main views of the millennium are 1.) Premillennialism, 2.) Amillennialism, and 3.) Postmillennialism. 

There are five flavors of the premillennial view and four hermeneutical views. I’ll briefly unpack them tomorrow. Hopefully this will trigger various reactions for you. I hope it makes your head spin and cause you to begin to rethink what you thought you knew. The interpretation of Revelation is not as simple as some would pretend. Consensus on meaning does not exist. 

I suspect we should consider new theological ideas and interpretations with extreme suspicion. The problem is, the interpretation of Revelation and future events comes from where you sit geographically, politically, and in time.  See you tomorrow.

Jesus, the chicken (Luke 13:31 -- 35)

Luke 13:31 – 35

GAP: We sometimes see God’s wrath and punishment as something He relishes or executes with glee and excitement.  (Fact: Jesus wept at this point… strong emotion)

TENSION:

            1.         Pharisees come to Jesus… warn Jesus (threat? Or pretend to be friend?)

            2.         Jesus calls Herod a “fox.”

Fox: not an alpha predator but very dangerous.

            a.         Our expression: “Fox in the hen house.”

            b.         Foxes will kill for the excitement of killing (unlike most alpha predators that kill                            for necessity).

TENSION:

            1.         Jesus delivers then delivers THREE prophecies:

                        a.         [v 32] “on the third day I will reach my goal.”

                        b.         [v 33] “no prophet can die outside Jerusalem.”

                        c.         [v 35] “you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes                                                 in the name of the Lord.”

            2.         What is Jesus saying?

                        a.         [v 32] Driving out demons and healing people… three days… goal….

                                    1.)        This is a prophecy of the three days Jesus would be in the grave.

                                    2.)        Two key ideas of what He would be doing those days:

                                                a.)        “Driving out demons” (destroy the works of the devil)

                                                b.)        “Healing people” (Isaiah: “by his stripes we are healed)

REALITY:

            1.         God must break the power of the “Law of sin and death.”

                        a.         On the cross Jesus provided the perfect, full, and sufficient atonement                                          (covering, payment) for our sin.

                        b.         At the resurrection Jesus shattered the power of “sin and death.”

 "Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?" [56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” [1 Corinthians 15:55 – 56]

            2.         We often mistake salvation as JUST a legal matter.

                        a.         Forgiveness in the court of heaven… legal standing before God.

                        b.         HOWEVER, there is the practical matter of right now… how we live…

                        c.         Healing is a reversal of the damage of sin,

                                    a restoration of the image of God in us,

                                    a revival of the soul toward our Maker and Savior!

EXPLORATION:  How was Jesus going to accomplish this?

            1.         The image of the mother hen…

                        a.         Our expression, “they want to get out from under their mother’s wings.”

                        b.         Problem: chicks like to wander:

                                    1.)        There is a big world they want to explore… BUT they don’t know                                                     what cats, or hawks, or foxes will do to them.  They are easy prey.

                                    2.)        They want to fight on their own… BUT this is unwise.

                                    3.)        They feel smothered under protective wings…

                        c.         Reality: We, like the chicks, are defenseless and dependent.

            2.         How does a mother hen protect here chicks?

                        a.         The hen “clucks” to call here chicks… she does NOT run to protect them.

                        b.         Their defense comes from them running to her… she uses here beak and                                       her life to protect them.

            3.         This is what Jesus WANTED to do for Jerusalem (and by implication, us)

                        a.         Sad statement “you were not willing.”

                        b.         Instead they killed the prophets and will kill the Christ.

 ***** Huge contrast between God’s willingness and our unwillingness. *****

RESOLUTION:

            1.         An ancient Psalm and prophecy: Psalm 91:4

“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”

            2.         An ancient promise and prophecy: Isaiah 40:31

“But those who hope in the LORD  will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles;     they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

            3.         Here it is:

                        a.         In Psalms there is a promise of protection… a place of refuge.

                        b.         In Isaiah there is a promise of strength… a place of accomplishment.

(Ill.) A mother/father eagle will push her baby of the nest… the little eagle will have to fly or die (so it thinks).  At the last moment, the mother/father eagle will swoop and catch the young eagle… take them high and drop them again.  This happens over and over until the young eagle learns to fly.

***** The idea is in Psalm 91 that the word translated “cover” is “Shekinah.”  [As in the “Shekinah” glory of God. *****

MEANING: What Jesus intended to do what place Himself between His people, “all fluffed up and hunkered down,” and the danger.

            1.         There was the “tooth and fang” of the fox verses the power of an unyielding and                          uncompromising love.

An American expression: “And God bet the farm” (everything) on the mother hen.

            2.         Jesus loves us with a love stronger than death...

***** Today we celebrate when Jesus entered Jerusalem to the shout of “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” as remembering but also looking forward to when Jesus returns. *****

***** Today we celebrate God unyielding and uncompromising love for us demonstrated Good Friday on the cross. *****

***** Today we are faced with the question: Are we willing?  Are you willing to take shelter in the Most High and live in the shadow of the Almighty? *****

The day everything changed

1 Corinthians 15:1 – 22

“The day everything changed”

 

The resurrection of Jesus is THE single most important event… ever.  The resurrection proved who Jesus is, it provided focus for the disciples’ preaching, it is the power of God to transform daily life.

 

 

I.          Why is the resurrection so influential?

 

            A.        The resurrection’s impact.

 

                        1.         PAST: as an historical event it shows us God did something great.

 

“And who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.” [Romans 1:4]

 

                        2.         PRESENT: the power is available for us today.

 

“I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.” [Philippians 3:10]

 

                        3.         FUTURE: God will do something greater in the future!

 

“So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable.” [1 Corinthians 15:42]

 

            B.        The resurrection’s importance.

 

                        1.         The resurrection is the foundational Christian belief.

 

                        2.         The resurrection is the ultimate source of hope.

 

3.         The resurrection is the guarantee for power in our current life and our future resurrection.

 

II.        Why is the resurrection so critical?

 

            A.        If no resurrection then faith is useless.

 

“And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” [v 14]

 

1.         The resurrection separates Christianity from every other religion.  You can go to their founders’ occupied graves.

 

2.         Christianity celebrates life, not death.

 

            B.        If no resurrection then we are false witnesses.

 

“More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.” [v 15]

 

                        1.         The core of being a follower of Jesus is to continue the witness.

 

                        2.         The witness is of the living Jesus.

 

            C.        If no resurrection then there is no salvation.

 

“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.” [v 17]

 

1.         “Faith” as a general thing is pointless.  People can believe in anything but that does not make it real.

 

2.         “Faith” must be specific and life changing for it to have any effect.  Otherwise it is “futile.”

 

            D.        If no resurrection the “lost” is forever.

 

“Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost.” [v 18]

 

1.         “Lost” is a technical word that means separated from God, like a lost sheep.

 

2.         The state of being “lost” is permanent unless something more powerful than death intervenes… the resurrection!

 

            E.         If no resurrection then we are pitiful.

 

“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” [v 19]

 

                        1.         Without the reality of what is promised then everything is empty.

 

                        2.         So Christians would deserve contempt for holding to empty myths.

 

III.       How can we be so sure?

 

            A.        Scripture.  (Prophecy: Predicted before it happened.)

 

“For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, [4] that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” [vv 3 – 4]

 

            B.        Eye witnesses. (Legal “proof”)

 

“… He appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve. [6] After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. [7] Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” [vv 5 – 7]

 

            C.        Paul. (Personal experience)

 

“And last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.” [v 8]

 

IV.       What should be our response?

 

            A.        Hope.  (NOT wishful thinking… confident expectation.)

 

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. [21] For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.” [vv 20 – 21]

 

            B.        Celebrate life, both spiritual and eternal.

 

“For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.” [v 22]

 

            C.        Be transformed.

 

For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. [10] But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them--yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” [vv 9 – 10]

 

1.         God took someone who was actively seeking to destroy Christianity and transformed him into an apostle!

 

2.         God can take you, from whatever place you find yourself and transform you.

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